STAGE REVIEW : You Can’t Take Such Pap in ’92

“You Can’t Take It With You,” a 1936 comedy, has not aged well.

The plot of this corny, creaky Moss Hart/George S. Kaufman contrivance is enough to make the eyes glaze over: Family members clash when a sweet young secretary from an eccentric brood wants to marry the boss’ son at the company where she works, and he just happens to have rich, uptight parents. Gasp! Sigh! So, will Cinderella get her prince or what?!

Worse still, in this production at the Moonlight Amphitheatre Winter Playhouse, the characters remain clearly stereotyped, ignoring the fact that there’s been civil rights and women’s movements in the interim since the first production.

In the white secretary’s family, for example, the only one who seems to work for a living is the black maid, Rheba, who refers to herself as “colored.” And the only other black character is Rheba’s boyfriend, an able-bodied man who lives with her out of wedlock while he collects relief checks from the government--and complains about how the government makes you wait for half an hour in line each week to collect the money.

As for the other women, all of them, with the exception of the cliched in-love-with-the-boss’-son secretary, are adorable, no-talent idiots indulged by their menfolk while they fantasize that they are great playwrights, painters, ballerinas.

Artistic director Kathy Brombacher, who directed this show, should give plays like this one a rest and keep an eye out for work that matters. The only reason for dusting off an old period piece like this one should be a fresh vision that somehow, some way brings the old wooden puppet to life.

And there is nothing fresh about this production.

Despite the play’s problems, the cast works remarkably hard at making the characterizations as funny as it can within the narrow scope of what is possible. The design team, too, deserves stars (if not purple hearts) for creating a better setting for the play than it deserves.

Kudos to Don Ertel for his set, a house with a handsome, weathered, lived-in look, and to Carlotta Malone for her bright and sparkling array of costumes.

Katherine Perry is a scene stealer as the deposed Grand Duchess Olga, who comes to dinner and ends up cooking the blintzes, assisted by her Russian friend, a dance teacher played by the very energetic Randall S. Hickman.

Bets Malone provides much of the fun as the secretary’s sister, Essie, a would-be ballerina. Kate King is the ditsy family matriarch, Penelope. Alexandra Auckland as the secretary and John Bisom as the boss’ son are about appealing as possible for these shallow romantic parts. Karyn Parham brings as much spunk and Mike Rias as much dignity as possible to the even more limited roles of Rheba and Rheba’s boyfriend, Donald.

Much has been made of “You Can’t Take It With You” having received a Pulitzer Prize. But that it did says a lot more about what judges in 1937 thought a good play was than it does about the lasting worth of this work. Much has also been made of its having twice been revived as a star vehicle, most recently for Jason Robards and Colleen Dewhurst in 1983. Which only goes to show that, for many audiences, the star is more important than the play.

At its best, “You Can’t Take It With You” is sentimental pap about the need to smell the roses--with a few funny jokes thrown in. At its worst, it is a callous image for recessionary times. This family preaches about how we should all quit our jobs if we’re not satisfied. After all, they manage to live quite nicely, thank you, without a single member working. (They say they’re not rich, but they support a full-time maid and their source of income is never spelled out.)

It’s hard to find lasting value in such a message in times like these, when so many people are losing their jobs due to the recession. The fun that this show assumes can be had by throwing off the shackles of 9-to-5ism--making firecrackers and candy, playing the xylophone and dancing and playing games day and night--is desperately out of touch with reality.

“YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU”

By George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Director is Kathy M. Brombacher. Lighting by Christine Wilmering. Sound effects and music by Michael Shapiro. Set by Don Ertel. Costumes by Carlotta Malone. Technical direction by Jim Malone. Stage manager is Fred E. Tracey. With Kate King, Bets Malone, Karyn Parham, Neil Pisk, Ken Kanniard, Sean Tamburrino, Mel Schuster, Alexandra Auckland, John Bisom, Randall S. Hickman, Mike Rias, Anne M. Wimberley-Robinson, Doug Davis, Katherine Perry, Terri Park, Robert T. Nanninga, Robert White and George Roswell. At 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through March 15. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $8 for students with ID cards. At Moonlight Playhouse, 1200 Vale Terrace Drive, Vista. Call 724-2110.